Carn Liath broch is an Iron Age settlement which sits between the main road and the shoreline around 35 miles up the coast from where I live. Last November we took visitors from overseas up there and, with a cold wind blowing straight off the choppy grey sea, we commented on how hardy those early settlers must have been. As I began to knit this hat I was reminded of that day, partly because the stitch pattern reminded me of the drystone walls, and partly because a cosy hat like this would’ve been very welcome!

Method:
This hat is knit in the round from the brim up using an easy to memorise stitch pattern. The resulting fabric is stretchy and warm.
It can be knitted on dpns, by magic loop, or on a short circular (in which case you will still need dpns for the crown decreases).
The stitch pattern is both charted and written out; the chart is read from right to left working from the bottom to the top. Please read the chart carefully.

Sizes:
This pattern is written in 2 sizes. All instructions that differ depending on the size you are knitting are color coded and indicated with parentheses like this: 1 (2).
For a comfy fit choose a size 1” – 3” (3.75 - 6 cm) smaller than the head circumference of the intended wearer.

Size - Actual Circumference - To fit head circumference
1 - 17”(43 cm) - 18-20” (46-51 cm)
2 - 20” - (51 cm) - 21-23” (53-58 cm)

Yarn:
This pattern was designed with Cygnet Pato Multi Colours Chunky. The simple stitch pattern works well with a striped or variegated yarn; you can use any Chunky (Bulky) weight yarn that you like and with which you can get tension/ gauge.

Please note I do not recommend using yarns with a high cotton content as cotton doesn’t stretch as much as other fibers and this will affect the fit of your hat.

I used 1x 100g ball of Cygnet Pato Multi Colours Chunky in colorway 80020 Garden Pond to make two hats, one of each size.